Emmerdale 50th anniversary preview: 11 spoilers for soap's stormy month
It's almost easier to say who *won't* be involved.
All eyes are pointed towards the upcoming 50th anniversary of Emmerdale in October.
We now know there's going to be a whole month of drama, but will peak in a massive and ambitious stunt week centred around a treacherous storm.
RadioTimes.com got all the gossip from the production team, as well as two stars heavily involved in the storylines, Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle) and Katherine Dow-Blyton (Harriet Finch) during a recent visit to the set of Emmerdale, which kicked off their first day of filming.
Read on for your spoiler preview to the Emmerdale 50th anniversary.
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Emmerdale 50th anniversary preview: 11 spoilers for soap's birthday month
1. A storm will change the village forever
The action will centre around a massive storm which throws the village into chaos. While we don't know much about the exact repercussions of such a terrible weather event, it's safe to say almost everyone will be caught up in the strong gales. Speaking at the press event, producer Kate Brooks teased: "As part of our big 50th week, we will focus on a massive storm that's going to rip through the village and absolutely leave a massive trail of destruction in its wake. Some of our best-loved villagers will be in peril, and it's safe to say that literally the village won't be the same after this – and it will never be the same again because the impact this storm has on people's lives is just massive."
She added: "It's quite unprecedented in terms of what we're doing and the scale of what we're doing, and we certainly think there's elements of the big storm week that I've not seen on a soap opera before."
Executive producer Jane Hudson added: "All the stories being told across this month are stories that we've been building across the year, nothing has been shoe-horned in. The stories are driven by the characters, and they all have an impact. It involves so many of our families; it's not just a storm that affects one small group, it affects the entire village."
2. Kim Tate and Will Taylor's wedding is interrupted by Harriet Finch
One of the major storylines of the month features the highly anticipated wedding of Kim Tate (Claire King) and Will Taylor (Dean Andrews).
The upcoming nuptials were always going to cause mayhem (what else would happen at a Tate wedding?!) but it's promised to be particularly explosive this time around because of one person who gets in the way: Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow-Blyton).
Keen to declare her love before it's too late, Harriet confesses her true feelings to Will – but she doesn't realise she's being overheard by Kim... uh oh.
Dow-Blyton shared: "Harriet's once again got herself mixed up with men problems. She's involved because she's getting wrapped up in Will's life a little too much than she should perhaps be, so that has an impact on his upcoming nuptials.
"I'm playing with fire there, but it's last chance saloon. She's got to make her feelings known before he walks down the aisle. There will be fireworks and more fireworks – we should be doing this on November 5th!"
3. The ghost of DI Malone haunts the village
If that isn't enough, there's one body always in the back of Harriet, Kim and Will's minds: DI Malone (Mark Womack). Fans will recall he's certainly made his way around the village, buried here, there and everywhere. If there's one thing for certain, with a storm on the way, we highly doubt that's the last we've heard of the tyrant.
Dow-Blyton teased: "That's always going to be hovering in the background, isn't it, but I don't know, hand on heart, where Kim's put the body, so nothing to do with me anymore."
Brooks chipped in: "He's quite far out of the village now, enjoying the quiet, peaceful countryside..."
"Or is he...?" Dow-Blyton joked. Is he?!
4. Faith Dingle's cancer battle draws to a close
In scenes that are set to be heartbreaking, Faith Dingle's (Sally Dexter) battle with cancer nears its end in October, putting Faith, Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Chas's (Lucy Pargeter) complex family dynamic once more at the forefront.
Speaking about the storyline, Hordley said: "I'm personally saddened at losing the brilliant Sally Dexter, but it will give us some great stories going forward, so I look forward to that. And that's as much as I know..."
Hudson added: "Everyone involved in that story is pulling out some of the most spectacular performances I've seen in such a long time."
5. Amelia Spencer's baby is due
Those who are good at maths will work out Amelia's due date falls very coincidentally around the time of the 50th anniversary celebrations – and in true soap style, the birth won't go to plan.
Hudson said: "Amelia is due soon, and whether or not she has the baby in the 50th celebration month, I'm obviously not going to tell you!
"But Amelia does play a very big part in the story and she needs to be found because she's stuck all alone, so she does play a very big part."
Will Amelia and her baby pull through?
6. Diane Sugden, Aaron Dingle and Tracy Metcalfe all return
There's lovely news for fans as the Emmerdale team has confirmed three returning characters in the form of Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen), Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) and Tracy Metcalfe (Amy Walsh) on a "temporary basis".
As for what they'll get up to, Tracy has a bombshell of her own to reveal, Diane's no doubt back in time for the Home Farm drama and Aaron, well...
7. Liv's mum causes mayhem
Sandra Flaherty (Christine Brennan) has been up to no good in the village since she reunited with her daughter, Liv (Isobel Steele).
Hudson explained: "If you're watching Emmerdale at the moment, you'll know that Sandra's back and that story's building and that's got a huge part to play across the 50th."
The drama isn't over for them both as returning character Aaron will have something to say to her and her wicked ways – so expect fireworks. "What's he going to discover...that Sandra's not all about Liv?" Uh oh.
8. Nate Robinson, Sam Dingle and Belle Dingle are in grave danger
The Emmerdale team have teased a stunt unlike any other ever seen in soap land – and one that will never be seen again. Intrigued?
It's going to involve Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter), Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) and Sam Dingle (James Hooton).
We just hope they all pull through, as they're some big characters to be caught up in such terrible danger.
9. Chas Dingle and Al Chapman are rumbled
"If you're gonna get it on, you want the storm for cover," laughed Hudson.
She went on to tease that Aaron will find out about his mum's affair, cheating on the man he sees as such a loving father. How will he react?
And how will Cain react if he finds out his sister is seeing his enemy? Hordley teased: "They've been circling each other for quite a while – they've been circling each other because of COVID as well....which was the sensible thing to do.
"However, I think, you know, this is going to lead to something, if he finds out, so I think it could be fireworks, but not the kind you get in November."
10. Murder in the Dales?
"There's always the potential for murder in Emmerdale – this is Emmerdale, there's normally a murderer lurking around the corner sometimes," Hudson teased, when asked if a storm could cover up a foul deed.
Which does lead us nicely to...
11. One character faces jail
Towards the end of the month, expect a big family-based storyline that could see a beloved end up in jail.
"When we get to the end of October, it might be the end of our celebrations, but we will be ending that month with a storyline which kicks off a whole new story and potentially sees one of our characters looking at spending the rest of their life in jail," revealed Hudson.
"We're making sure that when our celebration ends, it's actually the beginning of a whole new chapter, particularly for one of our families."
She wouldn't say much more than that, but count us fully in.
Emmerdale airs on weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV and ITV Hub. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.
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